Permafrost and Environmental Change (F8023A)

30 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

Polar regions are amongst the most sensitive to environmental change and are generally warming at present more rapidly than almost all other regions on Earth. The module examines aspects of polar regions from an interdisciplinary perspective, linking elements of physical geography, geology, permafrost science and glaciology. The aim is to provide you with a framework of knowledge and understanding of polar regions and processes from which you can summarise and critically evaluate some of the methods, hypothesis, theories and data about polar regions. You will develop knowledge of spatial variation of physical phenomena in the polar regions and understand how environmental change operating on a range of timescales affects the region.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 48 hours of contact time and about 252 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• Geography BSc
• Geography, Sustainable Development and Climate Change BSc